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A to Z Organize Me
Phone: 832.723.6523 E-mail: allison@atozorganizeme.com Website: www.atozorganizeme.com |
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A to Z Organize Me |
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Articles - Mail = Paper Clutter (January 2008) |
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We are bombarded daily with papers that can pile up and seem to have a life of their own by spreading around the house. It is time to gather up those papers from all over the house and do something about it.
Open up the mail when you have time to do the following listed below. Make this a priority, and you will find the time somewhere in your day. If not, you will continue to have paper clutter.
1. Create a place to open the mail. Make sure you have a shredder/trashcan/recycle bin handy. Immediately throw out junk mail. Be ruthless and quick. Junk mail is the mail you didn’t ask to receive such as: ads of any sort, grocery ads (unless you shop there and have a system in place to take it with you and toss afterwards), restaurant menus and anything else like these. If you need these services at some point, look them up online or ask around. Now is not the time to dwell on ads that come to you through the mail. Also, toss out all catalogs you are not interested in (you can always look them up online). Next, shred the credit card applications. 2. Open the rest of the mail, which should just be bills and personal things. Each time you open a bill or personal item, immediately throw out the outer envelope and any ads inside the envelope. 3. Take what mail is left and do something with it. Either file the paper or take action. File papers that you may need to reference at some point. However, don’t over do it. Many companies provide the same information online. Act on the other papers. You might need to RSVP to a party, transfer information to your calendar or to-do list, pay a bill, read the information, talk to your spouse or kids about something, or shred something. Realistically your action papers might not be taken care of immediately due to timing, but this is not an excuse to let your counter or desk get cluttered. You must make the time to act on your papers, or you will have clutter. Put time down in your calendar daily to work on your to-do’s. This is important because some of your to-do’s are mail related and paperwork, which will just pile up if not dealt with.
Things to consider:
· Create an area to open your mail that includes the computer, stamps, return address labels, envelopes, a filing system as well as a shredder/trashcan. · Sign up for automatic bill pay and keep up with it. · If you pay your credit cards each month, put bills on it and get the rewards such as: miles, cash back, points, whatever your credit card offers. Then all you have to do is look at the credit card statement to be sure your bill is on there correctly. Having this option gives you less mail to open and less paperwork to file or keep up with. · Go to www.the-dma.org to have your name removed from the Direct Marketing Association list (or use the links below). Direct Marketing Association Direct Marketing Association Direct Marketing Association
· Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT or www.optoutprescreen.com to reduce credit card solicitations. · Cancel some of your magazine subscriptions. You can always pick up a magazine at the store.
Just keep your papers in one location. Make the shredder/trashcan your best friend and take some steps to reduce your paper intake. Keep it simple by only keeping what you need to file or act on. Everything else goes back out the door. |